From Where I See – Book Review

From Where I See ,a novel by Ajay Yadav is quite a different one from those that I have been reading these days.

It
is basically a murder mystery story which is narrated through the voice
of Dr. Ajay, the author’s namesake.The book starts with Dr. Ajay being
questioned at the police station,in typical police style, with regard to
the death of Sruthi a.k.a. Nagma. What follows this and up to almost
the end of the book is a sort of flashback! And the last four chapters
spell out the climax.

So at the beginning when Dr. Ajay
is being interrogated,it looks like he is a suspect in the murder case.
Then he is asked to wait in the station till Inspector Om Prakash
returns to the station after attending to another case. That is when he
recollects his childhood times in the village along with his best
buddies – Sruthi and Kaniyah.

Sruthi is a sort of a
bold girl who is happy and rebellious to try out new tricks ,play
hockey with the village boys, hit the Village chieftain’s son with a
stone coz he teased her.And also a very religious one who never fails to
pray or visit the temple everyday…Kaniyah is the person who usually
get’s caught because of Sruthi’s antics!

They grow up
and go their separate ways due to family situations and lose touch with
each other. Then Dr.Ajay meets Sruthi, becomes friends again and also
Sruthi meets Kaniyah in a party hosted by Ajay and his wife…A lot of
things happen in between and then Sruthi dies.

This is the story… But, it is not as simple as I have spelt it here..

In
between ,in the flashback sessions, the author has expressed his ideas
and thoughts about everything from religion,corruption and bribery,
history of Indian Freedom struggle, world wars,reasons for extra marital
affairs, role of man and women through the ages and a lot more!

After
discussions of all these subjects is where he brings into light a lot
of things that were not known , and then in the end the murder/suicide
mystery is solved.

What I liked about the book:

The
author has taken a bold move in discussing some controversial topics
and I like the way he has justified his points.In this process he has
answered a lot of questions that the people in the society are facing or
want to ask but can’t find the answer.

There are several
lines in the book written in italics that are a sort of message to the
community.. Here are a few that impressed me.

‘Actually
we have failed terribly in utilizing our education to incorporate
logical thinking in us;we consider education as only a medium for bread
earning’
‘There is no doubt that they[social media] have
brought the distant ones closer but at the same time they have distanced
the closer ones’ – How true!!!! Why we have to
bargain with everything in life;why can’t we honestly get what we
deserve and honestly give others what they deserve.

These are just a few examples of the statements present in the book.

I
liked this book because it is something different and deals with the
issues of the society and also argues and explains the cause and action
for the dysfunction / disharmony in the society.

The only
thing that I can say that I was not so fond of is the long, long
narrations on various topics that seem to take place as a discussion /
conversation between friends / in a convention. But looking it from the
author’s point of view, that is actually the place where is expresses
his thoughts that were intended for this book. So I think the long
narrations/ discussions is justified.

It is one of the
books that we can read over and over again for the many logical
explanations and the messages/ statements in italics [which I really
liked]

As the book says – It’s not only a book;it’s the path to a revolution,it’s a journey towards a Utopian world.
And it does take an open mind to have the courage to accept the truth.
And I also agree with the forward written by Prof.Harish Narang- …a very interesting read with a serious message.

And
about the death of Sruthi, it is for you to read the book and find out
if it was a suicide or a murder. I am definitely not breaking the
suspense here 🙂

About the author….

Dr. Ajay Yadav is a consultant anesthetist, intensivist and pain
specialist. His textbook of anesthesia is the most sold textbook for
medical undergraduates in India, Southeast Asia and Africa. He is a
rational, logical and analytical thinker and is fond of reading,
traveling and long distance running. It had always been his dream to
write a book which can unfurl the other side of curtain.